In a World without God

Chapter 3

"We are... the descendants of sinners. It is our duty to inform our children of that fact when they reach their tenth birthday."

Glyon said grimly.

"The scars on the back of our necks are proof. We inherited the blood of the witch Ygraine...."

As he spoke, he was worried, for his son, Edulis, who stood before the statue, his face white. And with good reason. The statue depicts Bosha's sword piercing the witch Ygraine's throat. All the children of Astania look up to the hero Bosha and hate Ygraine for her evil deeds. But now that he has discovered that he's the descendant of a witch.....

Worried that Edulis might collapse again, Glyon continued.

"I was born into the Fey family, but I wish you had been born as a descendant of Lord Bosha... I'm sorry."

It was a moment of deep parental helplessness. Shaking his head, Glyon didn't notice his son's eyes gleaming.

***

In Bosha's day, the land of the Dukes of Fey stretched from the Baruba Valley in the central part of the continent to the coast of Ashdod in the southwest. Now, the northern Sijia region has been incorporated into the Duke of Fey's territory. After the fall of the Ur Empire, the Kingdom of Astania unified the continent.

Now that Bosha had been reborn as Edulis, the Duke of Fey was the largest family on the continent. But the Duke of Fey's glory had nothing to do with the Edulis family. For those who carry the blood of Ygraine are not recognized as Fey.

The people despised them, calling them "witches' blood," "cursed blood," and "branded.

Ygraine's descendants were openly discriminated against. One such discrimination was restrictions on where they could live. While the Fey family headquarters were located in the fertile lands of Vaidor, the descendants of Ygraine were forced to live in some of the most inhospitable and desolate places on the continent.

To Edulis, it was ridiculous. The most inhospitable and desolate place on the continent.... that was none other than Kaldura.

"Ygraine, the witch.

Edulis sat for a moment, lost in thought as he leaned back against the tree, then suddenly jumped to his feet and anxiously kicked at the carcass of the swamp crocodile in front of him.

Where Edulis now sits is the Varus Swamp, where his former self, Bosha, was trained by Black Fang's predecessor, Karayan.

"Crawl out alive and I'll train you to be my successor." Karayan threw the young Bosha into the middle of the swamp, and with those words, he left the swamp.

He was so afraid to be here then, but now there is no place he feels more at home. Everything in the world has changed. The only thing that hasn't changed is this swamp.

It's been two years since his last visit to the Holy Temple Museum, and Edulis still hasn't gotten over it. The mere mention of Ygraine's name made him feel as if he had swallowed lava, his insides burning.

After being with Ygraine, it didn't take Bosha long to realize that she wasn't a hypocrite. No... But he preferred her to be a hypocrite, at least at first. Bosha thought Ygrainne was a woman whose mind was made up of flower gardens from a fairy tale. A world where everyone loves and gives to each other, a world where even a six-year-old child would scoff at. It's a lie that people want peace. People always want to throw stones at someone else. Bosha wonders if Ygraine knows how much hatred boils in the hearts of those who call her a saint.

Being with Ygrainne has given Bosha a dream. If Ygrainne and Lutea's names were to rise and fall for a hundred years, a thousand years, and her ideals were to appeal to people endlessly, the hatred in their hearts would one day recede, just as the witch's army receded.